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5

     αμφὶ δ᾽ ὔδωρ
ψῖχρον ὤνεμοσ κελάδει δἰ ὔσδων
μαλίνων, αἰθυσσομένων δὲ φύλλων
     κῶμα κατάρρει. [transcription]

And by the cool stream the breeze murmurs through apple branches and slumber pours down from quivering leaves.

 

By the cool water the breeze murmurs, rustling
Through apple branches, while from quivering leaves
     Streams down deep slumber.

This beautiful fragment is quoted by Hermogenes about A.D. 170. Demetrius, about A.D. 150, says that it is part of Sappho's description of the garden of the nymphs.


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